Sony has managed to secure the third place in the list of top smartphone makers in Europe, following Samsung and Apple.

According to data released by IDC, Sony has shipped 3.2 million handsets in Europe.
Samsung has the lead in smartphone sales with 14.3 million devices followed by Apple (6.2 million).

It seems that Sony's latest flagship phone, the Xperia Z, has managed to have a good impact on the smartphone-buying public. The device has a 5-inch full HD display that uses the same panel technology found in Sony TVs, as well as Sony's digital music and camera technologies, making it an alternative to the Samsung Galaxy SIV.

The company has also worked hard to bring similar features and design standards to its mid-range handsets, such as the Xperia SP and Xperia L, which were launched in March. The SP supports LTE 4G for ultra-fast mobile internet connection and also boasts a full high-definition 4.8-inch display, while the Xperia L has an exceptional camera and features the same High Dynamic Range technology for still and moving images found in the Xperia Z. The Xperia L also has dedicated camera function buttons meaning that the phone can go from sleep to full camera mode in little more than a second, even when the phone is also locked.

HTC's sales were low in Europe so they don't feature in IDC's latest figures, but the flagship HTC One handset wasn't launched until Q2 of 2013.

Over the first quarter of 2013, 31.6 million smartphones were shipped to western Europe in total and that in terms of popularity, Android is still the leading operating system (69% market share) followed by Apple's iOS (20%) with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform in third place with a 6 percent market share.